Text Message Intervention for Alcohol Use and Sexual Violence in College Students
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
This study is designed to pilot a text message (TM) delivered behavior change intervention to decrease binge drinking and to increase use of sexual violence (SV) harm reduction strategies among college students.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
This is a prospective, open-label, feasibility trial of a text message-delivered intervention designed to increase use of sexual violence harm reduction strategies and decrease alcohol use among college students.
In this research study, participants will:
-
be asked to complete three surveys, one survey at the start of the study, one at the end of 3 month intervention period, and one at 6 months after enrollment
-
receive one of two sets of text messages for a 3 month intervention period and be asked to respond to some of those text messages
-
Control condition text messages: The control condition will be a version of the TM-delivered alcohol use reduction intervention developed and implemented by Dr. Brian Suffoletto while at the University of Pittsburgh. This intervention has been tested in young adults (age 18-25) recruited from Emergency Department and college settings, and will be used to provide an attention control group for efficacy testing. Prior to typical drinking occasions, individuals planning a drinking event are prompted to consider committing to a drinking limit goal, i.e.: "Would you be willing to set a goal to drink less than X drinks when drinking?". Based on willingness to commit to the goal, a feedback message is provided. During typical drinking periods, individuals receive a goal reminder. Each week, the program provides goal success/failure feedback or drinking quantity feedback. For example, those occasions where an individual committed to a drinking limit goal triggers either messages to reinforce goal successes or reframe goal failures. When an individual did not commit to a drink limit goal, they are provided feedback based on alcohol quantity (e.g. abstinence feedback, high risk drinking feedback).
-
Intervention condition text messages: The multi-target sexual violence harm reduction and alcohol use intervention will use a similar model to the alcohol use reduction intervention previous developed and implemented at the University of Pittsburgh.13-15 Students will be: 1) queried via TM prior to typical drinking days regarding both alcohol use and SV harm reduction goal setting; 2) provided with goal reminders during drinking period; and 3) assessed for goal attainment and given feedback following drinking episodes.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Active Comparator: Control - alcohol use reduction content Alcohol use reduction content |
Behavioral: alcohol use reduction content
The control condition will be a previously tested TM-delivered alcohol use reduction intervention. Prior to typical drinking occasions, individuals planning a drinking event are prompted to consider committing to a drinking limit goal, i.e.: "Would you be willing to set a goal to drink less than X drinks when drinking?". Based on willingness to commit to the goal, a feedback message is provided. During typical drinking periods, individuals receive a goal reminder. Each week, the program provides goal success/failure feedback or drinking quantity feedback. For example, those occasions where an individual committed to a drinking limit goal triggers either messages to reinforce goal successes or reframe goal failures. When an individual did not commit to a drink limit goal, they are provided feedback based on alcohol quantity (e.g. high risk drinking feedback).
|
| Experimental: Intervention - sexual violence and alcohol use harm reduction content sexual violence and alcohol use harm reduction content |
Behavioral: sexual violence and alcohol use harm reduction text message content
The multi-target sexual violence harm reduction and alcohol use intervention will use a similar model to the alcohol use reduction intervention previous developed and implemented. Students will be: 1) queried via TM prior to typical drinking days regarding both alcohol use and SV harm reduction goal setting; 2) provided with goal reminders during drinking period; and 3) assessed for goal attainment and given feedback following drinking episodes. As with the control condition, post-drinking assessment happens weekly on Sundays. Monday thru Saturday participants will randomly receive or not receive one appropriate message pathway from the message library using the pre-determined pathways for messages.
|
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- number of drinking days per month [3 month follow up]
as measured using a 30-day timeline follow-back (TLFB)
- number of drinking days per month [6 month follow up]
as measured using a 30-day timeline follow-back (TLFB)
- number of binge drinking days per month [3 month follow up]
as measured using a 30-day timeline follow-back (TLFB)
- number of binge drinking days per month [6 month follow up]
as measured using a 30-day timeline follow-back (TLFB)
- use of sexual violence harm reduction strategies [3 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
- use of sexual violence harm reduction strategies [6 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
Secondary Outcome Measures
- knowledge of sexual violence harm reduction behaviors [3 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
- knowledge of sexual violence harm reduction behaviors [6 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
- self-efficacy to use sexual violence harm reduction behaviors [3 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
- self-efficacy to use sexual violence harm reduction behaviors [6 month follow up]
Modified Dating Self-Protection Against Rape Scale (DSPARS). A series of questions about frequency of use of 15 behavioral strategies to protect against sexual assault (e.g. "meet in a public place instead of a private place" and "tell a friend who you are meeting and where"). In addition to use of each strategy, each item will be used to assess knowledge ("How aware of…") and self-efficacy ("How confident in your ability to…") for each strategy. ( ∝ = 0.86).
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
-
age 18-24 years,
-
current college or university student,
-
owns a mobile phone with internet access and unlimited text message plan,
-
reports binge drinking in the past 30 days [>3 drinks for women, >4 drinks men in one sitting]
-
Able to complete participation in English.
-
To evaluate messages tailored to prior SV victimization, approximately 50% of the sample will also be purposively recruited for a baseline history of SV.
Exclusion Criteria:
-
Under 18 years old, over 24 years old
-
Not currently enrolled in college
-
Does not own a mobile phone with internet access and unlimited data plan
-
Does not report binge drinking in the past 30 day
-
Unable to complete study participation in English
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania State University | University Park | Pennsylvania | United States | 16802 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- Penn State University
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
- University of Pittsburgh
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Jocelyn Anderson, Penn State University
Study Documents (Full-Text)
None provided.More Information
Publications
None provided.- STUDY00010873
- K23AA027288